Koos Bekker

Jacobus Petrus “Koos” Bekker is a South African billionaire businessman, and the chairman of media group Naspers. The company operates in 130 countries, is listed on the London and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges, and has the largest market capitalization of any media company outside the US and China.

  • Koos Bekker is revered for transforming South African newspaper publisher Naspers into an ecommerce investor & cable TV powerhouse.
  • He led Naspers to invest in Chinese Internet and media firm Tencent in 2001 — by far the most profitable of the bets he made on companies elsewhere.
  • Naspers has a 31% stake in Tencent, and Bekker serves as a non-executive director at the Chinese company.
  • It sold a 2% stake in Tencent in March 2018, its first time reducing its holding, but stated at the time it would not sell again for 3 years.
  • Bekker, who retired as the CEO of Naspers in March 2014, returned as chairman in April 2015.

Koos Bekker